King Says, Benji Says (Thursday Edition)

The NFL season kicks off tonight, with the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants squaring off at home against division rival Washington, and both King and I have something to say about it.

King says:

Jason Taylor, who has started 130 games in a row, will likely start his 131st, fighting a bum knee. If he’s anywhere near whole, he’s going to be a big factor in this game, playing opposite the underrated Andre Carter. I’m told he looked very good at practice Tuesday, but that’s a scaled-down, late-week practice with the Thursday game. Taylor makes it closer. He doesn’t put the ‘Skins over the top.

Prediction: New York Giants 20, Washington Redskins 16

Benji says:

You know what kills me about you, King? Even when I agree with your pick, you still manage to exasperate me. You spend an entire paragraph discussing the Redskins (and off-season acquisition Jason Taylor), only to pull the rug out from under them and declare the Giants the winner without any explanation. Why do you feel that the Giants are going to win? You did not feel the need to write even one sentence about the team you expect to WIN the game?

I’m going with the Giants because, well, they have earned my respect. They won the Super Bowl by beating a previously unbeaten team, for god’s sake. Even if they lost both of their starting ends (the cogs of their pass rush and defense), and, as a result, are unlikely to advance very far in the playoffs this year, I will pick them to win at home against average opponents until they give me reason not to do so. I think that the Redskins’ defense will be better this year, but their offense is a huge question mark for me. Jason Campbell needs to prove to me that he is healthy and accurate before I will even consider picking Washington to win a game on the road.